Everton brought in a decent amount of new players during the recent summer transfer window to try and help strengthen and add some depth to Frank Lampard’s squad.
One player in the squad that hasn’t had a look-in from Lampard so far this season is Allan, who has yet to play a single minute of league action for the Toffees.
Having been an unused substitute for five of Everton’s six league games and wasn’t in the matchday squad for their first away game of the season against Aston Villa, this suggests that the Brazilian, who has been described as “clumsy” in the past by Garry Birtles, is somewhat down the pecking order at the moment.
With that in mind, the recent arrival of one player, in particular, could spell the end for the 31-year-old’s time at Goodison Park.
Towards the end of the recent summer window, Everton struck a deal with Manchester United to sign midfielder James Garner for a fee of £15m.
During his loan spell in the Championship with Nottingham Forest last season, the 21-year-old made 41 league appearances for the Midlands club in which he scored four goals and provided eight assists, which is four goals and five assists more than Allan has delivered in 57 appearances for Everton.
Garner also ended the campaign with more crosses (207) than any other Forest player, as well as the third-highest number of interceptions (54) and successful tackles (44) at the club.
This shows how deadly he can be in an attacking sense and how effective he can be in a defensive regard without the ball as well.
Hailed as an “exceptional” player by Paul Robinson, it’s easy to see why the Toffees were keen to add the young midfielder to their ranks.
Taking into account Allan’s age, the fact he’s not played in the league so far this season, and the fact that his current contract at Goodison is set to expire in the summer, it certainly feels that if Lampard were to give Garner a run in the team and he managed to impress, it could ultimately see the Brazilian make a move away from Everton once his deal runs out.
